The Detroit News: Judge Gorsuch “the very image of a thoughtful jurist”

After two days of often hostile hearings, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is proving himself an even-tempered, deeply knowledgeable nominee who should be confirmed by the Senate.

Gorsuch calmly turned back attempts by Democrats on the Judicial Committee to paint him as an extremist whose rulings as an appeals court judge heavily favored corporate and big money special interest, the evidence to support that charge is flimsy.

At the start of Tuesday’s session, Gorsuch deflated the claims that he is a threat to women by stating the Roe v. Wade precedent “has been reaffirmed many times.”

And through often accusatory questioning aimed at distorting his record, he forcefully defended his rulings on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals while schooling senators on the law. He reminded the senators that “97 percent of the 2,700 cases I’ve decided were decided unanimously — and that I’ve been in the majority 99 percent of the time.”

Hardly the record of an extremist, out of the mainstream jurist.

Gorsuch is coming across in the hearings as the very image of a thoughtful jurist. He’s displayed an impressive depth of knowledge, and admirable patience. And he’s carefully followed past practice of judicial nominees in refusing to say how he’d rule on specific issues.

Democratic committee members have not been able to rattle him or walk him onto land mine.

The hearings confirm that Gorsuch is imminently qualified, and there is nothing radical in his judicial history. But Democrats want the confirmation of this mainstream, accomplished nominee to be a demonstration of their resistance to President Donald Trump.